Google sweetens Android with full Honeycomb SDK

Google has released a full SDK for Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb, Mountain View's mobile operating system targeted squarely at fondleslabs.

"The APIs are final, and you can now develop apps targeting this new platform and publish them to Android Market," SDK Tech Lead Xavier Ducrohet announced in a post on the Android Developer blog.

The release of the full SDK comes just under a month after Google released a preview of the SDK in late January.

Along with the new platform, Ducrohet also announced updates to the SDK Tool (r10) and the ADT Plugin for Eclipse (10.0.0). Goodies promised in these updates include UI Builder improvements such as an updated layout editor palette, more-accurate layout rendering, zoom improvements, and more.

As detailed on Google's Android 3.0 Platform Highlights page, Honeycomb is "designed from the ground up for tablets" – a sentiment reiterated by Google director of products for mobile Hugo Barra at the February 2 unveiling.

"Android today is available for large-screen tablet-sized devices," Barra said at the time. He did, however, allow for some wiggle room when it comes to moving Honeycomb down into the smartphone zone. When asked about that eventuality, he said: "We don't know. That's a conversation we're having right now."

Honeycomb hasn't made its way onto tablets quite yet. The honor of its arrival on store shelves is destined for the Motorola Xoom, which is set for release this Thursday. ®